Today we’d like to introduce you to Emmy Jeffries
Hi Emmy, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
My story began with a bit of a shock, questioning everything, then calling my mom…as most people probably do when they’re losing the plot. It was my freshman year of college and I had no idea what I had gotten myself into with interior design, everyone else was leaps and bounds ahead of me, perks of a large school whereas my tiny farm school was focused on Friday football and who kissed who. I felt so behind and sat in the grass having a crisis over whether I could do this when my mom said “well you can’t really quit now, so you might as well keep going.” Little did I know that not giving up just because I was behind would be the song of my career.
I started out being absolutely clueless in design but I had the overachiever mentality so I got an internship my freshman year of college, which allowed me to keep growing as a professional while I worked on my degree. Eventually I graduated, got a job with the firm I was interning with and rolled with the punches until I ended up at a design build construction company starting their design department. I was highly unqualified but I was organized, I had people skills, and I wasn’t afraid to get my hands dirty. Eventually I felt it was time to leave due to ethical differences during arguably one of the hardest times possible, mid 2020, but hey, might as well go all in, right? When you have nothing to fall back on, you find the way forward.
I got to where I am today by being scared that I’m not qualified but doing it anyway; you can learn how to draft or how to select the perfect fabric but being brave enough to try is the only way you can get ahead. I didn’t know how to run a business, I had no idea what made a contract legally binding, and I certainly wasn’t a financial genius, but I kept learning, I keep growing and getting more confident in myself. Sometimes being successful isn’t the salary or awards, it’s being proud of yourself; even if the biggest accomplishment of your day was something small, you made the effort and that is something to be proud of.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Unless you’re born with a silver spoon, trust fund, and familial connections, entrepreneurship is NOT a smooth road; it takes time, money, effort, people skills, and a hell of a lot of perseverance.
A recent struggle I’ve been navigating has been others’ perception upon meeting me. I often hear some rendition of “Oh you’re the owner?” or “You’re so young!”, which in my mind, is a compliment to aging well but it also evokes an air of hesitation with clients. Every client I’ve worked with has been from word of mouth so I imagine they have some understanding of my reputation but upon meeting me, question how those align. They usually perceive me as young, maybe think I’m inexperienced, but certainly don’t have the same trust as if I was their same generation. I think it’s a slight underestimation of my skills or knowledge which I know I’ll push through once we get into things but it does weigh on me. I was actually excited to turn 30 and push back against the questioning comments with a playful “ehh not as young as you might think”. But truthfully, the only way to overcome the comments is to prove my worth, show clients that I know what I’m doing and I’m good at it. I notice I don’t feel like an imposter like I once did but it took years to get to that point so the confidence I’ve gained is my armor against clients who question if I just have an insane skin care routine or if I’m actually that young.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
My company Damewood is a feeling, a spark of light that I try to share with everyone I interact with. Whether it’s a client or another professional, I want them to leave the interaction feeling positive, hopeful, even a bit excited. Yes, we are interior designers and specialize in environments but the life force behind that is my dream to help others. Sometimes that means designing the perfect coworking space or a sweet small town bakery, but it also means giving advice to starting entrepreneurs, sharing templates, easing a client’s worry that the color they love isn’t trendy enough. That’s one beautiful thing about building your own business, you get to decide what sets you apart; I think our devotion to understanding and helping others is what sets us apart.
Personally, I’d like people to know that Damewood is a brand that wants to create goodness; I want people to live, work, spend time in our environments because I truly believe they’re healing places. I want anyone we interact with to feel special and feel understood. I’ve always connected with the quote by Maya Angelou, “People will forget what you said. People will forget what you did. But people will never forget how you made them feel.” So, if you’re someone who wants to create a space that evokes a feeling or feels a certain way that you just can’t describe, we’d love to make your dream a reality.
Are there any books, apps, podcasts or blogs that help you do your best?
I think my mindset has been more helpful than any outside resources. Of course those things will help but I notice that I have to be in the right headspace for them or else I leave the experience feeling less than, like I’m so far behind that it’s an unrelenting uphill battle to get to where these “experts” are. I keep the mindset of believing I will get where I’m trying to go; I hold onto the picture of where I want to get, whether it’s a new big project or being able to finish my taxes before March. I trust that who I am today is getting me there, do I have improvements to make? Absolutely but those don’t change overnight. It’s little choices to do the hard things now so it’s easy on future me. I always say “What would future me want?” and let that impact my actions. Inspiration and motivation are great but action is required and you’re the only one who can take that step.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.damewooddesigns.com
- Instagram: damewood_designs
